Apparatus for manufacturing gas and recovering by-products.



No. 781,837. PATENTED FEB. 7, 1905. L. P. LOWE.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GAS AND RECOVERING BY-PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1903.

a W i W J a Ta M 3 I 7 2. B P i m A, G M m u l H x -M NM p; L. w 0 6 2. ha 2 Q a J 47 WA 5 1 \w a l n 6 2 m q u .L. a H x B "M a Ill 5 9 Z W O I 3% 3w) Patented February '7, 1905.

PATENT Urrrcs.

LEON P. LOlVE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURlNG GAS AND RECOVERING BY-PRODUCTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,837, dated February '7, 1905.

Application filed June 17,1903. Serial No. 161,794.

To 1177' nr/m'm/ {'6 712/111; concern.-

Be it known that I, LEON P. Lowe, acitizen of the United States, resid ing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Apparatus for Mannfacturing Gas and Recovering By-Products, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in an apparatus for generating manufactured gases from hydrocarbon-oils, preferably in the form of crude petroleum. simultaneously recovering certain by-products, usually in the form of so-called oil-tar."

My invention embodies novel features, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and delinitcly claimed.

In the manufacture of oil-gases and the recovery of the by-products therefrom it is customary to do so by externally heating clay retorts, simultaneously internally admitting hyd rocarbon oils, which are converted into fixed gases and condensable hydrocarbon substances,the former beingin the shape of the socallcd "oil-gas, of heavy gravity and high candle-power. while the latter is in the form of socalled oil-tar. This process of manufacturing gas has many disadvantages, and its successful use is limited to the handling of comparatively light and easily-distilled oils, while the resulting rich gas has not, generally speaking, been found a commercial and practicable substance for delivery and use through street-pipes in the ordinary manner.

I have found that if rich oil-gases are subjected to a degree of heat sufficiently high to break down a portion of the rich heavy h yd rocarbons into a solid substance usually in the form of lampblack the remaining gas is of lower candle-power and lighter gravity and which is, generally speaking, a commercially successful gas for distribution in the ordinary manner. Gas so manufactured must be rigorously treated before use to thoroughly cleanse and free it from lampblack and tarry substances, and heretofore this has been only practically done by bringing the combined mixture of fixed gases, condensablc hydrocarbons. and solid carbonaceous substances directly in contact with water and recovering each separately. By so doing the liquid hydrocarbons and solid carbonaceous substances are more or less intermixed, in addition to which they carry such a large amount of water as to make them practically useless for distillation into more refined products. If oils are subjected to a certain degree of heat and that only sufficiently high to convert same into fixed gases and condensable hydrocarbon liquids and if the latter be removed prior to the subjecting of the gas to the high degree of heat necessary for the breaking down of a portion of the heavy hydrocarbons into solid carbons, it is practicable to recover the tarry substances in a separate and refined condition, in which state they may have a commercial and marketable value, and the lampblack can be subsequently recovered in a comparatively pure state, or it can be used in a simultaneous operation for the decomposition of steam in connection with gas-making. thus increasing the amount of gas recovered, and this I ac complish in anapparatus which I. have doviscd (shown in the accompanying drawings) and of which the following is a description.

Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional elevation of the apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a plan of same.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

1 is a shell forming what 1 term a gasgenerator." It is preferably of cylindrical form and preferably composed of metal.

2 is a refractory lining. preferably in the form of lire-brick, contained within the body of the shell 1.

3 is a chamber contained within the upper portion of the shell 1.

L is a chamber contained within the lower portion of the shell 1.

5 is a partition or dividing-wall separating the chambers 3 and i.

6 is an outlet-opening from the top of chamber 4.

7 is an inlet-opening from the bottom of chamber 5.

8 is a valve connecting the openings 6 and T.

9 is a gas dip-pipe scaling in a hydraulic seal in the usual manner.

10 is a hydraulic seal.

11 is an outlet stack-valve closing an opening at top of generator.

12 is a suitably-controlled oil-supply pipe entering at top of chamber 3.

13 is a valve controlling air-blast opening at bottom of chamber 4.

14 is an oil-burner of usual form.

15 is an oil-pipe supplying burner 14.

16 is a steam-supply pipe entering burner 14.

17 is an ordinary tubular condenser.

18 is an ordinary hydraulic seal.

19 is a gas-outlet pipe extending from bottom of chamber 3 and entering hydraulic seal 18in such a manner as to form a dip-seal.

20 is a pipe connecting hydraulic seal 18 with top of condenser 17.

21 is a pipe connecting bottom of condenser 17 with bottom of chamber 4.

22 is a controlling-valve in pipe 21.

23 is a tar-overflow pipe.

24 is a tar-well in which overflow-pipe 23 dips and seals.

25 is an open-work checker-filling, of refractory substance, preferably in the form of loosely-piled fire-bricks, contained within the chamber 3.

26vis an open checker-filling, of refractory substance, preferably in the form of looselypiled fire-bricks, contained within the chamher 4.

hen I desire to put this apparatus into operation, I proceed as follows: I close valve 22 and open valve 8 and stack-valve 11. I then build a light fire in the bottom of chamber 4, the combustion of which I support by air admitted, preferably in the form of forced blast, through valve 13. This light fire serves to ignite hydrocarbons, which I admit through burner 14 and with which 1 heat to a high degree the loosely-piled stack of refractory substance 26 contained within the chamber 4. The products of combustion of the burning hydrocarbons escape from outlet 6 at top of chamber 4 through valve 8 andthrough opening 7 into the bottom of the chamber 3, through which they pass, and heat the mass of loosely-piled refractory substance 25 contained therein, the products of combustion finally escaping into the atmosphere through the stack-valve 11. It will be seen that the refractory substances 26 and 25 are heated in a gradually-decreasing ratio, the hottest porti on being that next adjacent to the bottom of the chamber 4, wherein the combustion of the hydrocarbon takes place. When the refractory substances 26 and 25 have become properly heated, which can be observed through sight-holes conveniently placed through the side of shell 1, I discontinue the heating operation by closing off the combustion of the hydrocarbon at the burner 14 and air-blast at valve 13. I then close the stack-valve 11 and valve 8 and open valve 22. I then admit hydrocarbon, preferaliily in the form of crude petroleum or its derivatives and preferably introduced in the form of a finely-divided spray, through inlet-pipe 12, which owing to the heat contained within the chamber 3 is quickly vaporized, and the vapors passing downward over the mass of refractory substance 25 are converted partially into fixed gases and partially into condensable hydrocarbon substances, usually in the form of oiltars, the mixture of gas and tarry vapors so formed passing from the bottom of chamber 3 through pipe 19 into the seal 18, wherein the tars are partially condensed and from whence they pass through pipes 20 into the top of condenser 17, through which they pass, and the balance of the tarry substances are therein condensed and dropped from the gas and collected in the bottom of the condenser 17, through which they flow through pipe 23 and are collected in the well 24, while the gas freed from its tarry vapors passes through pipe 21 into the bottom of the chamber 4, at which point it has been most highly heated, and simultaneously with the passage of the gas into the chamber 4 I admit steam through pipe 16. The gas passing upward through chamber 4 comes in contact with the very highly-heated refractory substance 26 contained within the chamber 4 and a portion of the heavy hydrocarbons of the same are broken down into solid carbonaceous form, in which condition the oxygen of the steam admitted through the valve 16 unites with the solid carbon formed, resulting in a decomposition of the steam and its conversion, together with the carbon. into the so-called water-gas, the mixture of water and oil gases thus formed passing up through chamber 4 over the surfaces of the highly-heated refractory substance 26 and finally escaping through outlet-pipe 6 and dip seal-pipe 9 into hydraulic seal 10, from whence they pass to washers and scrubbers and are cleansed in the usual manner. hen the heat contained within the refractory substances 25 and 26 falls too low for the proper decomposition of the oil, as described, I discontinue the gas-making stage by closing off hydrocarbon-supply from pipe 12 and steam-supply from pipe 16, and after closing valve 22 and opening valves 8 and 11 I reheat the apparatus in the manner first described until it is again sufliciently hot for gas-mal ing purposes,afterwhich by the manipulations previously described I again enter upon the gas-making stage, it thus being seen that the operations of heating and gas-making are intermittent and alternate.

The valve 22 is not essential to the principle involved in this method of gas manufacture; but for safety in the prevention of the formation of explosive mixtures in the condenser 17 I prefer its use.

This gas-making apparatus can be of any convenient form and construction, and I do not limit myself to any particular design; but in ordinary operation I prefer the arrangementas shown.

I claim----- 1. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, and recovering by-products, the combination of two chambers, a gas-conduit connecting said chambers, a condenser interposed in said conduit. means for feeding into the first cham ber fluid hydrocarbon, means for supplying steam into the second chamber, means for heating said chambers, and means for drawing off the finished gas, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, and recovering by-produets, the combination of two chambers, open checker-work in each chamber. a gas-conduit connecting said chambers, a condenser interposed in said conduit, means for feeding into the first chamber fluid hydrocarbon, means for supplying steam into the second chamber, means for heating said checker-work in said chambers, and means for drawing off the finished gas, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, and recovering by-products, the combination of two chambers, a gas-conduit connecting said chambers, a condenser interposed in said conduit, means for feeding into the first chamber fluid hydrocarbon, means for supplying steam into the second chamber, means for heating said chambers, the second more highly than the first, and means for drawing off the finished gas, substantially as described.

I. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, and recovering by-products, the combination of two chambers, open checker-work in each chamber, a gas-conduit connecting said chambers, a condenser interposed in said conduit, means for feeding into the first chamber fluid hydrocarbon, means for supplying steam into the second chamber, means for heating said checker-work in said chambers, the second more highly than the first, and means for drawing off the finished gas, substantially as described.

In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, and recovering by-products, the combination of two chambers, a gas conduit connecting said chambers, a condenser interposed in said conduit, means for feeding into the first chamber fluid hydrocarbon, means for supplying steam into the second chamber, a conduit between said chambers independent of or outside the condenser, means for passing products of combustion through said second chamber by said latter conduit into and through the first chamber, means for heating said chambers, and means for drawing off the finished gas, sub stantially as described.

6. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, and recovering by-products, the combination of two chambers, open checker-work in each chamber, a gas-conduit connecting said chambers, a condenser interposed in said conduit, means for feeding into the first chamber fluid hydrocarbon, means forsupplying steam into the second chamber, a conduit between said chambers independent of or outside the condenser, means for passing products of combustion through said second chamber by said latter conduit into and through the first chamber, means for heating said checker-worl in said chambers, and means for drawing off the finished gas, substantially as described.

7. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, and recovering Irv-products, the combination of two chambers, open checker-work in each chamber, agas-conduit connecting said chambers, a condenser interposed in said conduit, means for feeding into the first chamber fluid hydrocarbon, means for supplying steam into the second chamber, a line between the chambers independent of or outside the condenser, means for passing products of combustion successively through said second chamber, flue, and first chamber, and means for drawing ofl' gas from the end of the second chamber opposite to the conduit without passing it through the first chamber, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\Vi tn esses FRANCIS M. \Vmou'r, M. STUART. 

